A letter from the National Archives to Mikie Sherrill says the congresswoman's military personnel folder was released "in error."

Moreover, the letter from Scott A. Levins, the director of the National Personnel Records Center of the Archives included an apology. It was dated Sep. 22.

This was quite the error.

As one report noted:

"The documents (that were released) included Sherrill's Social Security number, which appears on almost every page, home addresses for her and her parents, life insurance information, Sherrill's performance evaluations and the nondisclosure agreement between her and the U.S. government to safeguard classified information."

The most serious part of the records, politically speaking, revealed that Sherrill was barred from walking in her 1994 Naval Academy graduation ceremonies for failing to report classmates who had cheated on an exam. That oversight, however, had no impact on Sherrill's nearly 10-year career in the Navy.

Not surprisingly, the record request was made by a man close to the campaign of Jack Ciattarelli. No surprise there. Both sides seek background info on their opponents.

People in government, or for that matter in private industry, make mistakes. We are dealing with human beings, after all.

But still, this one is hard to figure.

Full disclosure. Back in 2017, I briefly had a job with the Morris County Prosecutor's Office handling communications, which included assisting with Open Public Records Act requests. In answering a request and in releasing a record, it was standard procedure to "black out" an individual's Social Security number and other personal data - like a driver's license number.

So, it is hard to fathom how such a mistake can happen - and at the National Archives, no less.

It's no mystery to Sherrill.

Here's part of the headline of a statement her campaign sent out:

"Trump Administration Illegally Releases Mikie Sherrill’s Unredacted Personal Military Records."
Naturally, some have ridiculed this charge. If one employee at the Archives messes up, the president is responsible?

In normal times, perhaps, it would be over-the-top to implicate the White House for a mistake like this.

But we are not in normal times.

People, or at least Democrats, can not ignore the relevant news of the last few days.

On Monday, Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing a man who said there was no evidence to pursue charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, two people Donald Trump wanted prosecuted.

And now Comey has been indicted. Quite quickly, we will see what happens with James.

The New Jersey's governor's race is being closely-watched. It is only one of three major races in the country. The others being governor of Virginia and mayor of New York City.

Trump, who occasionally stays at his golf club in Bedminster, is paying attention.

When a poll a few days ago showed the governor's race tied, Trump celebrated with a social media post, calling Sherrill "incompetent."

Given the president's penchant to use government agencies to further his personal and political aims, you can't blame Sherrill and others if they see Trump's hand behind the release of records designed to embarrass the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor.

Yes, this would have been a far-fetched observation pre-Trump. But not anymore.